Say When
by SubwayWolf
Summary: Bruce Banner is invited to a party at Stark Tower, and drinks until drunk, lonely, and rather rude. Tony Stark wants to make him feel better, and invites him to dance. Rated T for some slash and Bruce's potty mouth.


**A/N: Wrote it because this pairing deserves more love than it's getting! Enjoy.**

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Bruce Banner sat, alone, on a slightly-too-tall bar stool in Stark Tower. To the left of Banner sat some incompetent woman's sequin-laced handbag, left unattended by the drunk who ran off to the dance floor at her favorite tune. To his right, another blindly drunk woman straddled a less-than-average-looking man, sharing tongues with him, moaning as they kissed and disgusting Bruce all the while. Bruce leaned slightly to his left, trying to get out of the way of the couple as much as possible.

Banner was rightfully annoyed. Tony Stark, who promised to talk to Banner during the party, hadn't even offered as much as a "hello" and was off chatting with various other guests, dancing to the music, and drinking nearly his entire cache of vodka. This left Banner sitting alone at the party, sipping on the vile liquid before him (brandy is what he ordered, even though he never actually liked to drink – it tended to bring his ruinous other half out at the slightest of instigations) and waiting, he told himself, _five_ more minutes, for at least a glance from Tony.

Although he didn't want to admit it, Bruce was feeling rather lonely, and Tony was the only person who could ease that pain. However, Stark was too arrogant and full of himself to fulfill a promise and keep Bruce company, and the realization of this put Banner into a bit of a mood.

The brandy became hot liquid coursing through Bruce's veins. His cheeks flushed at the heat and his head began to go numb. This must have meant it was working, he thought. The upbeat music playing from speakers, the footsteps of the many dancing party-goers, the laughter, the talking, the dry-humping, the fun everyone was having – all was suddenly amplified and each noise pounded against Bruce's eardrums like a percussion major on a massive bass drum. He couldn't see how alcoholics tolerated this to a point of addiction – it was absolutely dreadful. He grabbed handfuls of his curly, chocolate brown locks and put his head into his hands, groaning slightly.

Tony, as if summoned telepathically, approached Banner with that distinctive Stark smirk on his face. He studied Banner carefully through his purple-tinted sunglasses, looking him over and judging his physical state rather easily. Tony took the purse to Banner's left and tossed it to the floor, and took the seat. Banner spread two of his fingers as a peephole to look through and observe his friend sitting next to him. Banner wasn't in a mood for Tony.

Tony spoke through his slight smile. "You didn't seem like the hard liquor person to me, Banner." Tony gestured to the bartender, and, in a flash, received a martini in front of him. He sipped it eagerly, and then added more. "Very bitter, shows you miserable."

Unsurprisingly, Bruce wasn't in the mood to be judged. He was, however, in a mood to do the judging. "And you didn't seem like the martini person to me. Very girly, shows you weak."

Tony took it as a joke and laughed slightly. Bruce didn't laugh, but took his head out of his hands and looked at Tony sideways. Tony stopped laughing and took a breath. "This isn't your first glass of brandy, is it?"

Bruce sighed and took another sip of his nearly-empty drink. "Is it that obvious?"

"Your liver is weeping, my friend." Tony seemed amused at Bruce's state, and smiled again.

Bruce was in no mood to talk about himself, so he decided to turn his sluggish wrath to Tony's attention. "Tell me, why are you wearing sunglasses indoors, at night? You look like a prick."

Tony raised an eyebrow but still retained that damn grin. "Oh, that's a little harsh."

"I'll bet you've heard worse. You deserve worse. Matching your glasses to your tie, and your tie to your socks? That's just… embarrassing. And annoying."

Tony nodded and pursed his lips, squinting slightly. He pointed a finger at Bruce as Bruce glared at him. Tony inquired, "So you're the type of drunk that gets progressively more impolite?"

"Oh, am I being rude?" Bruce asked, unoffended. "Oh, no, that isn't the brandy. That's just me. So how's your party, Tony? Enjoying yourself, as I'm not?"

Ignoring the last part of Banner's question, Tony grinned happily, gesturing to the joy behind him with a dramatic wave of his hand. "Everyone's drunk and falling in love, Banner. It's wonderful. How about you? Found anyone yet?"

"Well… I'm in a constant battle of romanticism with this drink - I'm falling in and out of love with it, with each sip. In love because of the high it brings, out of love because of the pain it reminds me of. It's very conflicting. I'm not enjoying it, really. That's an odd form of love, but it's love. That's gotta count for something."

Bruce took a long breath, his eyes falling closed for a moment. He re-opened them to find Tony, smile gone, staring at him with a furrowed brow. Bruce looked away and turned back to his love, his drink, finishing its contents with a huge gulp.

Tony studied him further. "Ah," he nodded, "You're the philosophical drunk."

"I'm the honest drunk," Banner said curtly with a sharp glare. "Now leave me the hell alone so I can reflect upon myself in peace, without seeing my pathetic reflection in those stupid sunglasses of yours."

Tony ignored him. "I came over here for a reason, Brucie."

Banner sighed softly, annoyed. "Yeah? What? And don't call me that."

Tony's smile returned, this time a gentle, calm grin. He announced coolly, "I'm having the DJ play the slow songs soon."

Bruce laughed slightly. "Oh, wonderful. The DJ is finished spinning all the songs I hate." Bruce signaled to the bartender, who quickly refilled his glass. Bruce continued, "So, what's the meaning of this? Your assortment of impromptu lovers can dry hump each other at a slower tempo, huh?"

From behind the pair, a slow song started at the DJ's table. Various couples formed on the dance floor and swayed to the new atmosphere of the party. Tony smiled, seeing this, and then turned back to Bruce. "Nah, actually, it's to get everyone in _the mood_. It works every time."

After taking a large sip of his refilled brandy, Bruce turned to Tony with an annoyed look in his eyes. "If you've come to invite me to this sad attempt at infatuation, then you're out of luck. I'm not in the mood to do anything right now, especially not sleep with a stranger."

"You don't have to sleep with anyone," Tony assured him. "I just want you to get into a loving mood again. You need it."

They made hot eye contact for a brief moment. Something inside Bruce wanted to cry at the offer, but everything else at the moment wanted to punch Tony in his smug little face. "You believe you're doing me a favor, Stark? You don't understand what it's like to be unable - physically and mentally unable - to love. It's a weird pain." Bruce took a breath. "I hope you never have to feel it."

Tony was persistent. "Unable to love? You haven't even tried, Bruce! Come and dance."

Bruce bared teeth. "With whom?"

Tony's grin expanded. "With me. Come on."

Tony extended his hand to Bruce, the palm facing upwards and his long fingers curving slightly in Banner's direction, reaching out to him. Bruce first looked at Tony, and then at Tony's hand, and then back at Tony, trying to determine if Stark was sincere. Since his judgment was clouded, Bruce decided he wasn't serious, and burst into laughter. Tony's smile slowly faded.

"Well, you've done it," chuckled Bruce, amused. "You've made me laugh. Thanks for that."

Tony shook his head slightly, keeping his hand up. "No, I'm being serious. Come on, waltz with me."

Bruce looked at him for a moment, and realized Tony wasn't joking. His cheeks flushed, turning his face a shade darker than before. Bruce looked away from Tony, trying to get his mind straight. "This…," he took a quiet breath. "This isn't a waltz, you idiot."

"Bruce, come on. My house, my rules." Tony raised one eyebrow.

Bruce still refused to look at him. "That justifies nothing."

That gentle smile returned. Tony lifted his extended hand to his own face and removed his sunglasses. Bruce glanced up and watched him do this. "Look, I'll even take off my sunglasses for you," Tony offered. "Please, dance with me."

Tony's dark brown eyes, flickering with drunken happiness and gleaming with adoration, met Bruce's, and Banner fell in an instant love. Not only was the love for those suddenly beautiful eyes, but also for Tony, who stood there persistently, waiting for a simple, single dance. Bruce broke into a small smile. "Oh, those eyes, man, those _eyes_. I lost all will to sit here."

Tony's eyes lit up at the news. "Is that a yes?"

Bruce half-shrugged. "Well, that's sort of a "fuck you" for convincing me so damn easily. But I'll dance with you, despite my frustrations."

Bruce took his hand, and their fingers laced together smoothly. Tony, still beaming, led the blushing Bruce to the dance floor.

They snuck around already paired couples until they got to the center of the floor. Ignoring the confusion and stink faces from around them, Tony put his hands on Bruce's waist and Bruce raised his trembling hands and rested them on his partner's broad shoulders. Bruce got a gentle grip on the soft fabric of Tony's black dress coat. They were both wildly nervous in their heads, but managed to be calm and content in their swaying motions as they danced to the song.

Bruce took a sharp breath once he got comfortable with the movements. He smiled slightly, shaking his head. "You're so lucky I'm drunk and won't remember this."

"This is nice, isn't it? Calming and lovely. You get to see these eyes up close, now." Tony ran his hands halfway up Bruce's waist, and then back down again, enjoying the feel of it.

Bruce smiled and looked up at Tony with a small nod. "Lovely is a good word for it, I suppose. This is nice. I've never danced before."

"It's just shuffling around, really," Tony shrugged. "No skill required. Even men drunk out of their minds, like you, can do it."

Bruce ignored the statement and proposed one of his own. "So tell me, Mr. Stark, why me?" Tony raised an eyebrow, so Banner decided to elaborate. "You throw this lavish party, with all these rich and beautiful people and you're chatting it up with them all evening… and then you throw on a slow song, and you can have your pick of any of them, but you pick me. I'm… I'm curious as to why you did that."

Tony shrugged, but had a look in his eyes like he'd been waiting to answer that question. "Many reasons," he said calmly. "You looked lonely, you're a jerk when you're sad, and you smell good. Also, you're very handsome, your eyes are striking, and your hips feel great..."

Not buying it for even a second, Bruce tilted his nose down and glared at Tony over the rims of his glasses. At the sight of Tony's smiling eyes, however, Bruce saw Tony was in fact speaking truth, sharing his true feelings (however vaguely), and, somehow, didn't seem the slightest bit as nervous as Bruce was about it. Bruce tilted his head up and eased into a smile. His heart raced, and he took a deep breath to calm it – not wanting his elevated pulse to bring a certain uninvited guest to the party.

In a motion so slow Bruce hardly noticed, Tony leaned towards Bruce's face. Something inside Bruce froze him stiff, making him incapable of leaning away, and in fact he did quite the opposite – he found himself leaning in as well. Tony's eyes fell closed, but Bruce's stayed open in awe at what was about to happen.

Their lips were a breath apart, when Tony couldn't hold back a smile, and pressed his upturned lips to Bruce's relaxed ones. Bruce was hesitant to accept the kiss first, but slowly eased into it. Bruce's lips were brushing Tony's, but Tony went on full, not with tongue, just a passionate kiss.

After overcoming shock, Banner returned the favor. He took his hand and placed his onto Tony's head, kind of pulling his hair a little. They kissed softly, and with growing fervor, still swaying to the song all the while. It was then that something clicked in Banner's head, and he decided he hadn't had enough with this party – in fact, he wanted more.


End file.
